Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1887-09-16
a TALK ABOUT TIPS.
what They Cost Family Man at
Long Branch In a Week.


1t seemed like writing of strife
among the angels of paradise, says a
Long Branch special to The Phnadet-
phta Press. when | telegraphed you
last light brief dispatch on the strike
of the walters at the little. rose powered
hotel called the Elberon. Ii is picture
of elegant quiet and repose in itself,
and if there is a place in the land
where the gdrcon attends you with an
air of heightened politeness or the chief
hands you out with obsequious bowling
II Is in this aristocratic caravansery. The
vulgar question of wages, one would
think, would never disturb the dreamy
quiet of Elberon, where millions touch
elbows with millions, but give wide
sweep when less comes near. The man
with bank account well up toward
seven figures is the only one who is
welcomed by the Elberon set but he
goes along well enough if he has one.
Yet we find the men serve these
millionaires actually striking for more
pay! am told that there is side of
the story of the strike that has not
been published The trouble was not
so much the re of wages as the size OF
the "tip''-or rather its lack of size.
One would suppose that if there were
no t ps to be had from millionaires it
would be pretty hard scrapng to pick
one up elsewhere, but the opposite
seems to be the case.
The best seaside waiter gets S22 a
month and his tips In hotel
where the guests are fairaly liberal his
tips average : day. but the Elberon
walters. both last season and this. have
struck because their tips amounted to
scarcely half Of it, The richer the man
the less the tip, seems to be the case.
AT the large and more popular hotels
at the Branch everybody tips. 1t is
useless to try TO get any KIND Of SER
vice, without tipping, and many men
90 to the verge of liberality with the
attendant. Decent "tppers" are evil
IDENTIFY few and far between among Ei-
boron millionaires. for the walters have
always complained.
Everyone who does ANYTHING for you
at Long Branch hotel expects to be
tipped for it, \ guest would soon find
himself frozen out if he neglects to tip,
and it gets TO be a rather serious queS-
on if one is trying to spend mouth
or 30 here on slender purse. The
waiter is not the only one who must be
tipped You will find toll-gat at
every step, turn which way you will,
for everyone from the ,hoeback up
Expects something if he merely mods to
YOU every morn NJ. Open your peck
et-book to II m and YOU are greeted
with smiles; keep t closed and you are
i.,norcd The liberal Upper gets
the best seat in the dining-I DOM; he
never waits for his food, and he gets
tw &C as much as he asks for. The il
liberal one is put over in corner,
where he WA Is half an hour before
darkey finally condeScends to notice
him, and has 10 take whatever he can
get. A guest at one of tho biggest
hotels here made out LIST of his regu-
lar tips for me this morning. How
much do YOU think they amount to?
Here they are in tabulated form:
! waiter per Wcek.......... ............S . w
Cnambcrmaid, per month. ) 90
Head waiter, so a. 10 set a good table. g %
He 4dporter, on arriving, for not smash
lhG trunks. Observation-Disclosures. %
Bo0tblack average weekly ............ -
BcIl-boy, for answering calls average
NcchIl &c. .-................. 1 w
Bellhoy, for not using wsk-broom on
YOU when You pass them, average week
~ ................. ................. 81
Average each week on others .......... 90
Total in tips ......................s20 90
OF course, this is man with a fam-
~ and one who wants to live in COM
fort all the season. He is the most
popular man in the hotel among the
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